


knowing you inside out

by sebastian2017



Category: Fantastic Four (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Shenanigans, Body Swap, Clueless Johnny, First Dates, Friends to Lovers, Identity Reveal, M/M, Power Swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 07:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebastian2017/pseuds/sebastian2017
Summary: After a Spidey/FF team up with some pesky aliens, Peter and Johnny end up in each other's bodies. It's a mess to navigate, but at least it leads to them staying in the same building and getting to know each other better.  It's great for team bonding.Strictly professional reasons. Of course.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Comments: 12
Kudos: 205
Collections: MCU RarePairs Bingo 2019





	knowing you inside out

**Author's Note:**

> a fill for MCU Rarepairs Bingo square 'power swap'

Fighting with the Fantastic Four is cool. It really is. Peter would probably list it among his top three team ups. It usually involves traveling somewhere much cooler than New York and talking science with Reed, which is already enough to make Peter like it more than his average New York vigilante team up. Plus, there's Johnny. Peter's never really pursued Johnny seriously, nor does he ever plan to, since it would involve getting far too close and, most likely, having to reveal his secret identity to someone, but just because it's not serious doesn't mean it isn't fun to flirt with him constantly. 

They probably get out of hand sometimes, sharing witty comments about how they look in spandex and making plans for coffee and dinner and movies that they never actually fulfill, all between punching the latest bad guy of the week or whatever they're facing then. But hey, no one's ever died (permanently) and they always always manage to beat the bad guys, so as far as Peter's concerned, it's perfectly fine that they joke around and flirt like that while fighting the bad guys. They're just providing some much needed entertainment. Which everyone should enjoy, even if the rest of the team will often berate them for getting distracted or not being professional enough. Come on, they don't all have time to be boring while fighting space monsters. 

However, as fun as fighting with the Fantastic Four can be, and as exciting as it usually is to Peter's inner 6 year old science geek, it does also tend to have the worst clean ups. Peter's not really sure what it is about aliens and particularly aliens that attack Earth, but they have a habit of getting spectacularly messy. Peter's come to accept that when he teams up with the FF, he'll have to spend the whole rest of the day scrubbing down his suit to get it anywhere near functioning again. That doesn't mean he enjoys it anymore when he inevitably gets covered in alien gunk. Literal alien gunk. Today, he and Johnny have had the pleasure of getting doused head to toe in some green sort of slime after one of the aliens had exploded. (In their defense, they hadn't been trying to explode the alien, it had just happened.) It's like being covered in a weird combination of boogers and oobleck. Not pleasant at all. 

It's made even worse by the fact that he and Johnny are the only ones covered in it. The others had been far away enough to avoid it, which is really, really not fair. Morally unfair, but also, come on, Peter's sure they can afford to have all their suits dry cleaned. He's going to be bent over in his shower scrubbing this down for ages! It should have definitely been someone from the team and, because Peter's fond of Johnny, someone other than Johnny. Probably Reed. Reed would have probably found this more fascinating than disgusting. But no, it had to be him and Johnny, and the others are enjoying it, too. Ben is just laughing as he drags one thick finger along Johnny's shoulder and pulls it back, leaving a gross trail of slime dangling from it. 

"See, this is why we save all the jokes and witty quips for  _ after  _ the battle," Reed notes. 

"That's not fair!" Johnny whines. "This had nothing to do with any of that! We were fighting the alien and it decided to blow its guts all over that. Coulda happened to any of you, Spidey and I were just the only ones brave enough to get up close." 

"Brave? Or stupid? Cause lemme tell ya, it's not lookin' like bravery from where I'm standing." Ben laughs. 

"You guys are all mean," Peter grumbles. "They should call you... The Mean Muppets or something. The Three Mean Muppets Plus Johny." 

Johnny winces. "Spidey, I'm on your side here and even I've gotta say that was terrible. C'mon, bud, did you get slime up in your brain or something?" 

"I know, I know. I'm working on short notice! I exhausted my supply of ready made jokes while fighting these guys. I'll think of some more in the four hour shower I'm gonna have to take to get all of this out," Peter promises. And he really will have to spend an eternity getting clean. The suit has to be breathable so he doesn't just suffocate in it, but now he sort of wishes it was a little less airy. Maybe then he wouldn't have a hair full of slime. 

"Ugh, me too. My perfect beautiful hair. Do you think it'll ever recover?" Johnny laments, reaching up to poke at it. "You know what this reminds me of? Did you ever watch Nickelodeon as a kid, Spidey? Because I'm pretty sure this is exactly what getting slimed is like and suddenly, I regret always wishing I could get slimed as a kid." 

"At least Nickelodeon slime isn't made up of biological parts," Peter grumbles. He spots some approaching federal agents and sighs. "All right, well. I'm going to leave the boys in blue in your capable hands and go shower. See ya!" 

And with that, he swings off, ignoring Reed's complaints that he should stay behind to fill out his share of the paperwork. Nope. He gets slimed, he doesn't have to do paperwork. Those are the rules. And if they're not the rules, then they should be the rules. Maybe writing up an official list of rules will be his next project. Once he manages to clean off all this slime. Assuming he actually manages to do that at some point in the next century. Peter has to stop at a nearby rooftop, because he's leaving a rather obvious trail and the last thing he needs is to lead super villains to his apartment because he's leaking slime all over the place. 

Changing into his civvies while he's still dirty is somehow even grosser than just being in his gunk covered suit, but at least it'll be keeping his secret identity intact. He'd retrieved one of the backpacks he has webbed up around the city to put away his dirty suit and his initial assessment is that he'll definitely have to throw this backpack away. It'll be way too gross to ever be put into commission again. If Peter had the funds for it, he'd do the same to the suit. Just set it on fire and never look back. (Yes, he's being a little dramatic and yes, it's not really that bad other than a little uncomfortable. But come on! People who have recently been covered in alien guts are allowed to be a little dramatic. That'll be the next rule he jots down.) 

When he gets back to his apartment, Peter takes a looong shower that probably leaves the rest of the building without hot water, but oh well. He considers it payment for all he does keeping them safe as Spider-Man. He still doesn't feel nearly clean enough when he's done, but it's a start. The suit is still gross and tossed in a corner of his bathroom, but Peter will deal with that later. Right now, he's too exhausted to care about much of anything. He doesn't even bother getting something to eat before he just tosses himself across his bed and gets ready for the best night of sleep he's had in a long time. His head's barely touched the pillow before he's knocked out, ready to sleep for eight blissful hours. 

***

Johnny had never been so thankful for the very thorough post mission showers at their headquarters until the night before. He'd accused it of being overkill before, with the shower heads all over the ceiling and walls, but it had been exactly what he'd needed last night to get clean from all the alien stuff. In fact, Johnny thinks he'll take a second shower there this morning. Overkill, maybe, but just what he needs to feel clean again. It's his first thought when he wakes up. Johnny stretches out in bed, looking forward to a long shower and a lazy morning. Maybe he'll just spend a few hours scrolling on his phone before he even gets up. He doesn't realize anything is amiss until he reaches over to grab his phone and ends up bumping into a wall instead. Which... makes no sense. Johnny's bed isn't up against a wall. 

He sits up properly now and rubs the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes so he can look around and assess the situation. This is... definitely not his room. Which, fine, it's not the first time he wakes up in a stranger's bedroom without a recollection of how he'd gotten there, but he'd been dead tired the night before. He remembers perfectly well leaving his shower, devouring his dinner, and heading straight to bed. Definitely no going out and finding someone to spend the night with. There's also the fact that the other person is nowhere in sight, which... yeah, Johnny's made some quiet exits after one night stands as well as received them, but usually not when he's at his own place. Maybe they're in the bathroom? 

"Hello?" Johnny calls out, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. His voice sounds different, but he doesn't think too much of it. Probably just rough after sleeping. (And maybe more? Apparently? God, Johnny needs to find out what the hell he'd drank last night if he's forgetting this thoroughly. )

After receiving no reply, Johnny decides to venture a little further into the apartment. He makes it about two steps into the bathroom before catching sight of himself in the mirror and letting out a horrified scream. Because that is not himself staring back at him. It's Parker. Peter Parker. Of all people. Johnny moves around in the reflection for a few moments, just to double check, but yes. No doubt, that's Peter Parker's body staring back at him, but himself in it. He'd ended up in Peter Parker's body. Somehow. When he calms down slightly, he turns his head and spots the Spidey costume bunched up in a corner of the bathroom. The shock and panic starts all over again, even more intensely than before. Oh my god. This can only mean one thing. Oh god, Johnny's world is being turned upside down with every second. 

Peter Parker is sleeping with Spider-Man! 

Wow. This is quite the development. No wonder Parker is Spidey's personal photographer! Who else to make him look good but his boyfriend? This is normally the sort of gossip that Johnny would love to learn, so he can make use of it in the best way possible, but this isn't really the way he'd have liked to learn it. Much better if someone had accidentally let it slip at weekly superhero happy hour. God, Johnny has so much to process right now. Not to mention, he has to get to the lab and find Reed. He'll know what to do with this. Plus, that way, he can find out who's in his body. Is it Parker? Probably, though Johnny can't fathom why. Of course, he also can't fathom why he's in Parker's body in the first place. Reed's going to have a lot of questions to answer for him once he starts figuring all this out. 

Johnny goes through the drawers in search of something to wear, feeling slightly like a creep. Though not as much of a creep as he feels like when he strips out of the pajamas and notices that Parker has got quite the body underneath all those nerdy clothes he wears. Seriously, how does a photographer in grad school end up looking like this? Spidey must keep him really busy in bed. Johnny's definitely going to tease him about this next time they team up, after this has all been resolved. He finds Parker's cellphone, too, plugged in on the dresser, but he can't figure out the passcode to get in, so it's pretty much useless. Still, he pockets it before heading out the door. Parker will probably want it back if it's him in Johnny's body, so he can call Spider-Man and tell him what happened. 

The next hour is an adventure more complicated than most things Johnny does for the team, as he's trying to figure out how to get to the Baxter Building with public transportation. Parker's wallet had only contained a Metro Card and about three dollars, so... no taxis. Johnny's never missed all the Fantastic Four vehicles like at this moment. If he had their flying car right now, he'd be there in no time. Not to mention, he wouldn't have had to spend an embarrassingly long amount of time squinting at maps at the Subway stations, until some grandma took pity on him and asked where he was trying to get to. Definitely not one of his proudest moments. But he makes it eventually! He makes it and feels even prouder than the last time they'd beat Doom. Beating Doom had probably been easier than this whole thing. 

On instinct, he tries to go in through the side entrance, the one that leads straight to the team common area. But of course, he doesn't have his entrance key nor are Parker's biometrics registered into the building, so... Johnny ends up remembering just in time and narrowly avoiding getting zapped by the building defense systems. He goes around to the building's main entrance instead, like some sort of school kid on a fieldtrip, and rings the doorbell. He only has to wait a few seconds before Reed's voice comes through on the intercom. 

"Johnny! We were wondering when you'd make it. come on in, Peter and I are already in the lab trying to figure this out," he says and doesn't wait for a reply before buzzing him in. 

Well, at least now Johnny knows for sure who'd woken up in his body this morning. And he gets the reassurance of knowing they're working on it already. Though he can't help but be a little bitter that he'd had to battle the MTA while Peter got to wake up here, in a far more comfortable bed, and with Reed only a few floors away. Not fair at all. Also not fair? The way Ben laughs at him as he walks through the kitchen. Totally not cool. Johnny tries to send a small fireball in his direction, but of course, that doesn't work. This whole thing sucks. 

Johnny's pouting as he makes his way into Reed's office, because he can't think of anything else that would be an adequate response to this whole mess. Reed and Peter are in the middle of a conversation, something scientific with words Johnny doesn't stand a chance at understanding. Normally, he'd be a bit peeved about that, but today he's just grateful. If he doesn't understand it, they're probably deep into whatever loony science they'll need to bring them back into their own bodies. The faster that gets done the better. Johnny doesn't need to understand any of it. 

"Hey, Reed. Hey, Parker. Please tell me you've already figured out how to reverse this whole mess," Johnny asks, going to stand nearer to them. He's seen plenty of strange things in his time with the team, but seeing himself standing in front of him is probably the most unsettling. It's like some bad nightmare. 

"Not yet, I'm afraid," Reed says, which is the last thing Johnny had wanted to hear. "We're still trying to figure out what exactly caused this swap in the first place." 

"But we're working as fast as we can!" Parker adds. And once again, Johnny's just reeling from how strange it is to hear his voice coming from someone else. Parker doesn't seem too concerned about it and just keeps on speaking, "And about what you found out this morning when you woke up... I'd, uh, appreciate it if we can keep that under wraps." 

"Don't worry, Parker. I won't tell anyone you're sleeping with Spidey. Though I don't know why you'd want to keep it a secret. Spidey's quite a catch," Johnny laughs. 

"You think..." Reed trails off, frowning. "Johnny, that's not-" 

Parker cuts him off. "I've got this. Uh, Johnny, you came here on the train, right? Did you hold onto the railing by any chance?" 

"What? No, I sat down. What does that have to do with anything?" he asks. He frowns and looks between the two of them. They're doing that 'we're scientists and know something you don't' thing between them, which is unspeakably annoying. 

"You'll see. Here, Johnny, how about you put your hands on this wall here? Palms flat, it'll be a little easier that way," Parker instructs. 

And it's definitely the weirdest set of instructions Johnny's gotten from someone he wasn't sleeping with. He follows, mostly out of confusion, and because Parker is pushing him along towards the wall. As soon as he's standing steady, Parker pushes him over, without any sort of warning. Johnny yelps and braces himself to fall over, but he never does. He falls, sure, but he's held in place by his hands on the wall. Like they're stuck there, being held by some invisible force. Almost like he can walk on walls. Like a spider. 

It clicks in Johnny's head and he can't help the shriek of shock that escapes him. "No freaking way!" 

"Yup. Welcome to the small and limited club of people who know Spider-Man's real identity," Parker says, laughing sheepishly. 

"You're Spider-Man," Johnny says, because even though it's clicked in his head, he needs to say it out loud to make it make sense. Actually, it still doesn't make sense. He doubts it will for quite some time. "Peter Parker is Spider-Man. That's... Jeez. And now I'm Spider-Man?" 

"At least until we can figure out how to get the both of you back into your real bodies. And quickly, I hope," Reed says, coming up behind the two of them. 

Johnny nods and tries to step away from the wall, only whatever is making his hands stick won't budge. He frowns, tugging to no avail for a few moments before he gives up and looks to Parker for help. "Uh... How do I make it unstick?" 

"You've gotta calm down. It's a little tricky at first. The first few weeks, before I got it under control, I figured out it's kind of like a seatbelt. Yank it too hard and it locks to keep you safe. You've gotta pry it off slow and calm and it should let you go free," Parker explains. 

It's a little hard to be calm when he's just found out that Spider-Man is secretly a nerdy photographer and he's stuck to a wall with his newfound spider powers, but he tries his best. It takes a minute, as well as running through breathing exercises in his mind, but he manages it eventually and he gets his hands off the wall. He'll have to remember to be careful with that until they're back in their bodies. "Wait. So you have my fire powers?" 

"Yeah... I might have accidentally set your bed on fire this morning," Parker explains, sheepish. 

"What? Ugh, Spidey, I had just gotten it perfectly worn in!" Johnny complains. 

"If the two of you are done comparing powers like kids on a school yard, we do sort of have bigger things to worry about," Reed points out. He's already gone back to work at his desk and he butts into their conversation by stretching his neck until it's between them. It's definitely among Reed's creepier habits with his powers. 

"Hey, comparing powers might be important. Who knows how long we'll be in each other's bodies," Parker points out, though he's walking over to Reed's side as he does, because he's still a teacher's pet. 

Being stuck in these bodies for much longer isn't something Johnny wants to give much thought. Just the possibility makes him shudder. He likes being Johnny Storm, thank you very much. "That's not going to happen, though, right? You're just about to figure out how to get us back to normal and this'll just be a weird morning we'll laugh about in a few years. Right, Reed?" 

"I'm afraid I'm still not even entirely sure how this happened, Johnny. My best guess is whatever you two got covered in from that alien fight. But I'm still trying to make sense of the substance," Reed says apologetically. 

"It's not so bad being Peter Parker. You'll get the hang of it in no time," Parker assures him and claps him on the back for good measure. 

Somehow, Johnny doesn't quite buy it. If he had to guess, he'd say he's the one getting the worse end of this exchange. 

***

Life as Johnny? It's great. Truly, one of the best things that's happened to Peter in a long time. Peter still has his secret identity, so he doesn't really want to explain to his neighbors why Johnny Storm is staying in his apartment and going to his classes for him. Johnny complains about it, but he agrees to commit to the change in the end, for Peter's sake. So while Johnny is staying in Peter's too small, too cold apartment, attending all his boring lectures, and getting yelled at by JJJ, Peter is lounging around in Johnny's extravagant bedroom, enjoying the most comfortable bed he's ever seen in his life and the reliable internet connection to catch up on his very, very long Netflix list. It's great. Peter almost feels guilty about how spoiled he's been in just a day and a half, but he's having far too much of a good time relaxing to feel guilty. 

Johnny, judging by how he storms into the FF common area one afternoon, is not having so great of a time as Peter. Peter is lounging in one of the couches with his laptop - seriously, the wifi here is amazing - and editing some pictures he'd taken last week. When he looks up at Johnny walking in, he at least has the decency to look somewhat sheepish. 

"I've had it with all of this. I need my old life back. Please tell me you've made progress, Reed," Johnny all but begs, throwing himself onto one of the couches. 

Reed winces. "Sorry, Johnny. I don't have a timeline on all of this yet. I am much more confident it came from that alien substance, though." 

Johnny scoffs. "Oh, great! We know where it's from, but not how to fix it. That's helpful! If you haven't figured it out yet, how come you're here and not in your lab? You should be working on cracking this!"

"Even brainiacs need breaks sometimes, Johnny. A lil patience would do ya good," Ben insists. 

"Well, there's two brainiacs here. They can take shifts. I know you understand all of this, Parker. I went to one of your lectures today and it was all like gibberish. Even worse than when Reed talks!" Johnny complains. 

"Well, the professor saw you and that's what matters. Thanks for going for me, Storm," Peter says. His professors are annoyed enough with him from how often he shows up half asleep or not at all. Being Spider-Man is like a full time job, but it's not like he can explain that to them. 

"Yeah, whatever. Here's your homework, nerd," Johnny grumbles, picking up the backpack and throwing it back towards Peter. Only, it seems he's forgotten that he's quite a bit stronger now and Peter has to duck to avoid getting hit in the face by one of his textbooks. Instead, it slams into the wall and leaves a dent. 

Peter grimaces as he stands up and picks it up off the floor. He reminds Johnny, "Proportional strength of a spider." 

Johnny just groans. "I need a nap. In an actual bed. Not that lumpy brick you have at home and keep trying to pass off as a real bed. And the heating! Good God, don't even get me started on the heating." 

And with that, Johnny disappears off towards his bedroom, grumbling under his breath the whole time. Peter can't really blame him, he knows his apartment isn't exactly the most comfortable to live in, but it's a bit embarrassing to get called out for it here in front of everyone else. Not to mention that now he definitely does feel guilty about this whole thing and the fact he's getting to just enjoy luxury while Johnny's putting up with all the worst parts of being Peter Parker. 

Peter grabs his textbooks out of his bag and stands up off the couch. "Uh... Sorry to bother you, Reed, but mind if I go study in your lab? I could use somewhere quiet and I don't think going to interrupt Johnny's nap would go well right now." 

"Of course. Feel free to study there anytime you need, Peter," Reed promises. 

And that definitely seems like an open ended offer for even after this whole ordeal is over and if Peter was embarrassed before, it's doubly so now. Great. Now one of his scientific idols knows he's just some poor, struggling grad student under the mask. And knowing Johnny's gossiping tendencies, even if he doesn't tell anyone Peter's identity, he'll probably let slip that Spider-Man lives in a cramped little studio with half a dozen blankets instead of heating. It's not really the reputation Peter wants among the superhero community. 

Luckily, he has a couple of chapters on biochemistry to read. Nothing like some dry scientific texts to forget about his woes. He's at it for a while, trying to make up both for all the study time he loses as Spider-Man and what he's losing now that he can't attend his lectures. When he hears the door open, he assumes it's just Reed coming to work or awkwardly offer his mentorship. Instead, it's Johnny who pulls up a chair and sits down across from him. 

"Listen. Sorry for snapping earlier. Your life kind of sucks, but you're probably the last person who needs to be reminded of it," Johnny says. 

It's a very Storm kind of apology, but Peter doesn't even mind. He just laughs. "Yeah. Trust me, I'm well aware that my apartment sucks. Sorry that this is how it turned out. Maybe you can stay here? I mean, if anyone ends up asking, I can say I was helping Reed with something as an intern. Way easier to explain than you being at my place. Or, well, me in your body at my place." 

"God, yes. Please. Let's do that. I don't understand how you survive that place. Aren't you freezing all the time? Have you not caught hypothermia by now?" Johnny asks. 

Peter shrugs. "Lots of blankets. Plus, I'm rarely there, anyway." 

"Right, because you have that crazy schedule to keep up. Seriously, Parker, when do you sleep?" he exclaims. 

"Sleep is... Not really something I get a lot of," Peter explains, chuckling awkwardly. 

"Yeah, I could have figured that one out on my own. Man, it's a wonder you haven't snapped and turned into a supervillain by now." Johnny shakes his head, looking somewhat amazed. 

"I haven't quite figured it out, either. Sorry to say it, because I know you're not having the best time, but... This whole thing has been like a much overdue vacation for me," he admits. 

"Listen... I didn't really enjoy this last day, but you definitely deserve it, Parker. The guest room is just as comfortable as my room. You can stay there tonight," Johnny offers. 

Peter smiles up at him and bookmarks where he's left off in his textbook. He has a feeling he's done all the reading he'll do today. "I appreciate that. And you can call me Peter. You know that, right?" 

"All right, then. Peter it is. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time with each other until Reed figures this out, aren't we?" 

"I think that's an understatement, Johnny." 

**** 

Of course, things can't be peaceful for very long. Why would they? Johnny feels like he's only just fallen asleep - on his bed! His wonderful, cozy, magnificent bed - when the alarms start ringing. Some sort of emergency that requires the Fantastic Four to respond. Great. One night of sleep is apparently too much to ask for amongst this mayhem. Running entirely on autopilot, Johnny drags himself out of bed and over to the closet, where he pulls out his uniform and starts to get dressed, still half asleep and in the dark. He pulls it up to his shoulders and finds that it doesn't quite fit right. He turns on the light to make sure he's grabbed the right uniform and in doing so, catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. 

Right. Somehow, he'd managed to forget the situation they're in right now. Of course his uniform doesn't fit right. It's made to be a perfect fit for Johnny Storm's body, not Peter Parker's. Johnny almost puts it on anyway, slightly strange fit be damned, when he remembers the second part of this whole catastrophe. Their powers. He can put on his old Fantastic Four uniform - though actually, on second thought, he totally can't, because it has no mask and Peter's still got his secret identity - but he still doesn't have his powers. And what good are unstable molecules meant to keep his clothes from burning with him when he can't even catch flame? 

Johnny strips it off quickly, in case Peter's going to need it, and puts on a pair of shorts before hurrying out to the living room. Peter - in Johnny's body, which is still deeply unsettling - is sitting there, as well, looking just as confused as Johnny feels, as well as a bit disappointed for some reason. Around them, the others are bustling around, getting together the last of what they'll need to go defeat whatever super villain has decided to attack New York at such an ungodly hour. 

"So, should I put on the Spidey suit and tag along? Is Peter just going to take my uniform and go with you? What's going on here?" Johnny asks, holding up the uniform he'd brought with him. 

Sue and Reed exchange uncomfortable glances between each other, and do that thing with their eyebrows that means they're having some sort of conversation between themselves. Mostly, they do it when they're trying to decide who's going to scold Franklin or Valeria, so it's a bit disappointing to be on the receiving end of it as a fully grown man. Sue seems to lose whatever mental arguing they had going on, because she's the one who turns to Johnny with a too kind smile. 

"Well, actually, Johnny, we were thinking you and Peter should stay here instead. Neither of you really knows how to use each other's powers, so it would probably just be too dangerous to bring either of you along. You understand, don't you?" she asks, laying a hand on his shoulder. She asks in a tone of voice that very clearly implies that even if Johnny doesn't agree or understand, there won't be any room for arguing tonight. 

Regardless, Johnny tries to argue against it. "But, but without one of us, it's just the three of you and that just doesn't work, does it? It's the Fantastic Four, not the Terrific Three. And you need a fourth to watch your backs!" 

"Well... Franklin and Val are coming with us. They're in their rooms getting dressed. I'm sure the five of us will manage just fine," Sue promises. 

And oh boy. Talk about adding insult to injury. Johnny can't go, nor Peter in his body, but a pair of teenagers can? Jeez. Now Johnny doesn't even want to go. He just wants to stay here, sulk, and eat some ice cream or something. He sighs and puts the suit down on the coffee table, to show he understands, and goes to sit down next to Peter on the couch. Now he gets why Peter looked so disappointed when he'd walked in. Johnny's sure he looks exactly the same. The pair of them sit together in disappointed silence as the rest of the team heads out and then remain quiet for a while longer even when it's just the two of them. 

Johnny turns the television on, so he can at least get an idea of what it is they've gone off to fight. It's on the news, of course, a live coverage of Doom Bots terrorizing Central Park for some reason. And this doubly sucks, because even if he usually winds up bangedup afterwards, Johnny loves throwing fireballs at Doom Bots. Ugh. He wishes he'd never gotten covered in all that alien goo. It hadn't exactly been fun up to now, but it's even worse when he's just sitting on a couch and watching everyone else get to have all the fun. Peter doesn't seem so happy about it either, so Johnny decides his passing thought of sulking with junk food isn't so bad an idea and he gets up to head to the kitchen. 

"I think there's two Ben and Jerry's pints with our names on them, Peter. You up for it?" Johnny asks, though he can't imagine anyone in their right mind turning down some midnight Ben and Jerry's to quell the disappointment. 

Sure enough, Peter gets up off the couch and goes to join him. "That sounds perfect, Johnny. I don't think there's enough ice cream in the world to lift my spirits after all this, but I'm more than willing to give it a try. You know, for science's sake." 

"Of course. For science," Johnny agrees, laughing. He pulls out two pints of chocolate chip cookie dough, figuring that's a crowd favorite no matter what, and puts them down on the counter, along with two spoons. If they're doing this, Johnny's determined they do it right. 

"Man, this sucks," Peter proclaims, hopping up to sit on the counter while he eats his ice cream. "I never thought I'd actually miss all the late night patrolling, but here I am, wishing I was getting a little less sleep and a little more beat up." 

"I know. I'm always talking about how I wish the super villains would give us a bit of a vacation from beating them, but... yeah, that's definitely overrated. Do you think Reed'll figure this out soon? So we can get back to fighting crime in our own bodies?" Johnny asks. 

Peter doesn't look terribly optimistic. He just shrugs and takes an aggressive stab at his ice cream. "I dunno. Science like this is kind of hard sometimes, y'know? It's not exactly what we learn about in school. If anyone can figure it out, it's Reed, but... I dunno. I don't want to get my hopes up that it'll be soon." 

"This sucks," Johnny echoes. "Maybe... Maybe we can teach other how to use our powers? That way, we could go out. Even if this goes on for a long time, at least we'll still be able to go out and kick some super villain boot. Without, y'know, you setting half a city block on fire or me not using my web shooters right and falling to my death from a skyscraper or something." 

"That... That's actually not a bad idea. It couldn't hurt. It's a way to pass the time and even if Reed gets us back in our own bodies before we're done training each other, then we're still just understanding each other better. Good for team work and whatever," Peter agrees. 

"Well, I'm not going to interrupt my ice cream and pity party tonight, but... maybe we can start training each other tomorrow?" Johnny suggests. 

"Well... You have a lecture to attend on my behalf tomorrow," Peter mentions, wincing apologetically. "But after that, totally!" 

"Ugh. Lectures. I don't understand how you're still functioning, between lectures, the Bugle, and Spider-Man. Is that another spider power? Not needing sleep? Because let me tell you, Spidey, I'm tired!" Johnny complains. 

They stay in the kitchen for a while, eating their way through the ice cream and laughing about the absurdities of both their lives. Johnny's surprised by how much he actually enjoys it. Sure, he and Peter have had chats in the past, usually some late night food after a team up, that they eat on a rooftop while complaining about Bad Guy of the Week, but this is different. It feels far more like a real friendship than just a team up that occasionally involves eating together. Johnny certainly hadn't set out to make a new friend during all of this, but... well, he's not going to stop it if that's what happens. 

(Why would he? He's showered in this body. He's sure he and Peter would make a killer team at picking up people at bars.) 

****

Peter never thought he would say this, but he's actually starting to miss all the little things that make up his life as Peter Parker. He misses going to lectures and struggling to stay awake, he misses getting three hours of sleep after a few hours patrolling the neighborhood, he even misses getting yelled at by JJJ because his pictures of Spidey aren't incriminating enough. Sure, it's been nice to get some rest and stay here at the Baxter building, where the heating works and the beds probably cost more than Peter pays in a year of rent, but it's been pretty infuriating being cooped up for so long. 

They'd agreed, early on in this whole mess, that it was probably best if they avoid going out whenever possible. There's far too high a chance of running into people that know them - the person they're supposed to be with their bodies, not whoever is actually occupying it at that moment - and getting caught up in some awkward conversation where they try, and fail, to pretend to be the other person. If it had been two members of the team who'd been switched around, it probably wouldn't be too big of a deal. Just explain to everyone what had happened and go on with their lives until it's fixed. They'd probably even get hailed as heroes for it. But Peter's still got his secret identity and this really isn't the way he wants it to come to light. So while Johnny still goes out for classes and work - it would probably be more suspicious if Peter missed all of those entirely than if he was acting a bit odd - Peter's just stuck here. 

Of places to be stuck in, Baxter Building is probably one of the best. It's spacious and it has just about anything Peter could want. Wi-Fi, several televisions with streaming services, a pool, a gym, even plenty of lab space if Peter wants to do some tinkering with his web shooters or get started on the missed labs for class. But knowing he's stuck inside takes most of the joy away from that. Plus, while the rest of the Fantastic Four are great company, Peter misses his actual friends and Aunt. All this and it's only been five days since this whole mess started. Peter doesn't even want to think of how messed up in the head he'll be if this ends up going on for much longer. 

Currently, his saving grace amidst all of this is his daily training sessions with Johnny. They meet up every night after dinner to teach each other about the other's powers. Neither of them had been very pleased about getting left behind when the team had been called to duty. There's the boredom, of course, but also, neither of them is the sort who can just sit around and watch trouble happen without trying their very hardest to help in some way. With great power and all that. Peter's never been particularly drawn to fire, nor has he ever wanted different powers, but he doesn't have much of a choice right now. So here he is, trying to learn how to fly. He's just run into a wall for the fifth time tonight. 

"C'mon, Peter, I dunno how you keep running into things. It's like walking. Way simpler than these webs of yours," Johnny insists, poking uncomfortably at the web shooters around his wrists. 

"No way. With my webs, I can at least get a sense of where I'm going and control it. Flying is...." Peter wrinkles up his nose in distaste as he sits next to Johnny on one of the ledges in the training room. He can't really describe it, so he just shakes his head. "It's harder. Webs just came naturally." 

"I guess you still have the soul of a spider in there, huh?" Johnny says. He pokes Peter's (his?) chest good naturedly. 

"Let's not even start thinking about that. The last thing I need among all of this is philosophical crisis about souls and the essence of being or whatever," he insists, shaking his head. 

"The trick to not think about all those things, Parker, is to not be a nerd," Johnny teases. 

Peter laughs. Johnny had always teased him whenever they'd met as Johnny Storm and Peter Parker and it's continued now that Johnny knows Spider-Man and Peter are one and the same, but it has a fond edge to it now and Peter doesn't even mind it in the slightest. It's fun, really. In a way, he feels like the best thing that'll come out of this whole mess is that he's getting to know Johnny beyond the Human Torch. Amazing how easy it is to make better friendships without the hindrance of a secret identity, right? Maybe the pair of them will be friends beyond this. Peter won't say it out loud, because he doesn't want to invite Johnny's teasing either, but he definitely thinks it. 

***

Johnny's stopped asking Reed every ten minutes what his process on bringing them back to their proper bodies is. To start with, it's been ten days and Johnny's starting to get pretty tired of asking. (Not to mention, he's getting tired of the tired half glare Reed always shoots his way when he pokes his head in the lab to ask again.) But also, there's a small part of him that's getting used to this change. He doesn't love it, don't get him wrong, but he's starting to get used to it. And maybe, if Johnny let himself be honest with himself, the part he's enjoying isn't so much being outside of his body, but all the time together with Peter that this has led to. Peter's much cooler than Johnny ever thought. 

Maybe it's a bit unfair, because Johnny had always thought Spider-Man was cool, but finding out Peter and Spidey were the same had made Johnny a bit dubious about how he'd always interpreted Spider-Man. Spidey had never been one to hang around for long, always finding some excuse to leave and not leave his identity at risk for much longer, so Johnny had wondered if perhaps he only thought Spidey was cool because they didn't spend much time together. After all, Peter, who Johnny had actually spent a bit of time with before all of this and probably knew better than he'd known Spidey, was definitely not cool in his eyes. But now he's starting to see that's not quite true. 

Sure, Peter probably won't strap on a leather jacket and go racing down the streets of New York in a motorcycle any time soon and he's definitely as nerdy as Johnny's first assessment of him had been, but it's not in the obnoxious way some of Reed's other interns had been in the past. He's not as constantly witty and biting as when he has the Spidey suit on, but Johnny's found he's pretty funny. And easy to talk to. That's his favorite part of what he's discovered about Peter in these last few days. They can talk for hours, sit together when they're supposed to be training, and never run out of things to say. Peter definitely gives off awkward vibes sometimes and maybe he is with some other people, but not with Johnny. With Johnny, he just fits. 

Johnny's thoughts towards Peter and this whole situation start to border dangerously close on a crush, so he tries not to let himself think about it too much, but he definitely can't stop himself from feeling it. And he doesn't feel it as sharply deep inside him as when Reed bursts into one of their training sessions one night, grinning from ear to ear. 

"I figured it out!" he exclaims. 

"You did?" Peter echoes eagerly. He hops off the ledge they're sitting on and tries to catch himself with his web shooters on instinct. When they dont' work, though, he stabilizes himself off with a brief flame on to land gently instead of simply tumbling onto the floor. A testament to how well their training sessions are going. 

Reed nods. "I recreated that alien substance. It seems it's some sort of self defense mechanism. It's only supposed to get on one person to make them trade places with the alien, so the enemies will be the wounded ones, if things aren't going so well for them. But since it got on both of you, it made things a bit more complicated. But I recreated it and I think I can get you back in your own bodies by nightfall." 

"That's great news, Reed!" Peter grins and turns around to look up at Johnny. "Did you hear that? We'll be back in our own bodies! No more going to lectures on my behalf." 

"Yeah." Johnny laughs halfheartedly as he climbs back down to the floor, taking advantage of Peter's sticky limbs. It seems he won't have them for much longer. "That's great news, Peter." 

"I just need the two of you to come along to my lab with me. I'll have to douse you in that substance again, just as a warning, but it seems a small price to pay to get back in your own bodies," Reed explains. 

He leads them down the hall to his lab and Peter follows eagerly behind him. Johnny trails along, wondering why he's not nearly as excited as he should be. This is great news. He can go back to his body, things will be normal again, he doesn't have to suffer through all the more difficult parts of Peter Parker's life. It's great. It's what he's wanted from the start. So then why is he having such a hard time being happy about it? It's not that he wants to stay in Peter's body, but... well, he and Peter had been spending an awful lot of time together because of all this, hadn't they? Time that they would have never gotten if it hadn't been for this whole mess. 

It's only been two or so weeks. It's not as though spending time with Peter has become an absolutely integral part of his daily routine. But he's come to enjoy it nonetheless. They wouldn't have gotten to really know each other, no secret identities or presumptions in the way, if it hadn't been for all of this. That's something positive, isn't it? It hasn't all been terrible. But maybe they'll just go back to normal now. Back to teaming up every once in a while, exchanging sme clever quips mid battle, and then swinging away, back to their normal lives, pretending they don't know each other beyond just the codename. Johnny doesn't want to go back to that. 

He must be doing a pretty terrible job at hiding his disappointment, because while Reed is at his console, getting the last minute things prepared, Peter pulls him aside with a worried frown. "Johnny? Are you okay? You don't look too good." 

"I'm fine, I just..." Johnny sighs. How can he even say anything about this without sounding like a total loser? Or without sounding insensitive to how badly Peter probably wants to get back to his life? "I think I'm just going to miss some of this. Not the whole not having control over our own bodies, obviously, just... y'know, all the time we've spent together. It was pretty nice getting to hang out with you." 

"Oh. You know, Johnny... We can still spend time together once we're back in our bodies. It doesn't have to stop just because we both have to stay cooped up here to avoid suspicion," Peter points out. 

"...really?" Johnny asks, frowning a bit. Because of course he knows that in theory they could do that, but he'd never actually thought Peter might actually want to. 

"Of course. I liked hanging out with you, too, Johnny. It's hard making friends as Spidey with the whole secret identity thing, but if you already know anyway, then who cares?" Peter shrugs. "If anyone asks how Peter Parker wound up meeting Johnny Storm, we'll say it was through my job taking pictures of Spider-Man. But I'd really love it if we could be in our own bodies when this all happens, so... How about we go let Reed put us back into our proper bodies and then we'll worry about social plans?" 

And so Johnny lets himself be dragged over to Johnny, suddenly feeling much better about the whole thing. It's not so bad. Maybe he and Peter will end up better friend even, now that they can hang out with each other outside of just here at Baxter Building and their usual training room. He'd like that. He's surprising himself with how much he thinks he'd like that, in fact. Reed has to cover them in some gross replication of the alien substance to get them back to their own bodies, and give them a sedative so the change happens while they sleep as last time, but Johnny's not paying much attention to any of it. He's mostly just busy wondering how he and Peter are going to keep being friends after all is said and done. 

**** 

Johnny Storm is an interesting friend to have. Peter knows all about interesting friends, especially the friends he's made as Spider-Man, but Johnny still ends up ranking top of the list. A list that, mind you, includes Deadpool in it, so it's saying a lot. It's not in any bad sort of way, nor does Peter mind it. It's just that.... Well, Johnny holds a striking resemblance to a puppy when it comes to friendship. It's endearing really, how excited he is to meet up and do anything together, no matter how short notice. Peter's pretty sure no one's been this excited to see him since the class hamster in fifth grade. 

It has its drawbacks, of course. Johnny tends to show up everywhere fully blazing and visible from three blocks away. It tends to defeat the purpose of Peter trying to be sneaky and catch criminals without detection. But Johnny doesn't meet him on patrol every night, so Peter can forgive it. Besides, hanging out in the outside world is much better than at Baxter Building. The most important being that outside of the Baxter Building, there's a whole city of delicious, greasy, terribly unhealthy street food. Peter knows plenty of his friends will say that nothing tastes better than drunken food late at night, but Peter disagrees. Nothing tastes better than a gyro plate at three in the morning while sitting on a rooftop after doing a few hours of patrol. 

Judging from the sounds Johnny's making while he eats sitting next to him, the patrol part is optional. 

"I'm telling you, Johnny, I know all the best places in this city that are open past three. I could probably write a book about them," Peter explains, moaning in delight as he has another bite of his food. It's like he can feel his bruises start to heal from the magical powers of street food. 

"I can't believe you were holding out on me, Spidey," Johnny complains. "Maybe I can take you around to your favorite places sometime? Like... during the day or something?" 

Peter frowns a little and glances in his direction. "Part of the charm is how late it is. I swear, the stomach processes food differently at this hour." 

"Yeah, I know. I just meant... Maybe like... Ugh, this never used to be hard. Maybe as a... date or something? I like you, Spidey. Like... a lot," Johnny explains. And then immediately winces. "That sounds childish, but I do. That whole mess with our bodies made me realize it." 

Peter doesn't have too embarrassing a reaction, because he'd kind of already suspected it. He might be a little thick sometimes, but he's not as much of an idiot as some people tend to be. So even though his stomach is doing cartwheels inside of him, Peter plays it cool and he just smirks as he stands up and faces Johnny. "Sure. Come by my place tomorrow at noon and I'll let you take me somewhere out of my price range. Just two requirements, okay?" 

"Sure thing," Johnny agrees eagerly. 

"No aliens and no setting me on fire. See you then, Storm." 

And with that, Peter swings away, partly because he's about to hit a wall and anyway, but mostly because he needs to go home and scream into a pillow like a teenage girl. If this works out? Hell, he'll write a thank you note to those aliens himself. 


End file.
